“Microsoft in the same Japanese Developer Forum speech that revealed 500 Windows Phone feature adds also confirmed persistent beliefs that Windows 8 would ship next year,” Electronista reports.
“The ‘next generation of Windows systems’ was coming out in 2012, the CEO said,” Electronista reports. “He also referred to it as Windows 8 by name and made it clear that tablets would be a core part of the platform.”
“As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8,” he added. “Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Haven’t we already had enough predictions of the apocalypse this year?
Windows users “ought to expect” their computers to work more often than not — and that hasn’t worked out.
Oh, and what the hell is the difference between a “tablet” and a “slate?” Meaningless drivel from master of meaningless drivel.
And will these “Windows 8 slates, (and) tablets” have keys and a mouse or pointer stylus? Will they come in the 1st generation Zune brown?
In 2012, more than 90% of the devices will be iPads with great apps and ecosystem. They will share their data files well with all the iPhones and NEW (non-Windows) Macs. Now, 80% of the mobile video is watched on an iOS device. Why would anyone buy a 1st generation Beta version of a Windows slate or tablet? Clueless still and years late!
Tut tut! Not so. A slate requires a hammer and chisel (AKA Stylus) and we all know MIcroSoft is the master of stylus use.
What is the difference between a slate and a tablet?
slate < tablet < iPad
Yes, or (Slate+Tablet+Exhume+Playbook+Touchpad) < iPad
Tablet = the small, orally administered, chemical delivery device that Ballmer fills up on before the hallucination-induced predictions or on-stage monkey dancing.
Slate = from the root word LATE. Also a bumbling boss at the quarry where Fred Flintstone worked in the late stone age.
iSlate.
Oh wait, I got that wrong, isLate.
ROFLMAO!!!
A slate is a Microsoft Tablet.
An iPad is an Apple Tablet.
Do they have Capacitive touchscreens in Redmond yet?
The slate was what the original 10 commandments were written on…
You remember
I. Thou shalt not steal (Apple’s ideas)
II. Thou shalt not kill (the competition)
III. THou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house (see I> above)
etc
LOL.. Windows phone ’07
We can always count on Herr Ballmer for a good laugh.
@midwestmac – exactly
MDN takes should be nominated for some kind of award
IT Doofuses, please don’t skip Windows 7 in your upgrade cycle/plans.
Windows 8 is coming out next year but don’t let that fact keep you from upgrading to Windows 7 now and fork over your money again next year or whenever we’ll be done copying from Mac OS X Lion…
I showed a little interest in the Samsung Focus from rogers which is Rogers only WM7 phone. Look at the tech specs I actually bursted out laughing when i saw ( Up to 8 hours music playback ) Standard seems to be around 30ish for almost all phones and WM7 is 8? i lost all interest at that moment
Was that a typo? Surely you meant 500 viruses!
Yes, it comes with more viruses than the entertainment at a Windows conference.
Der Fuhrer speaks. Herr Adolf Ballmer says Microsoft is bringing 500 new features to WP7!!! The first of which is to help them copy & paste iOS features because by God where will they get their ideas from otherwise!
Predictions of the apocalypse…. none of which have come true!
The first time I used “Ballmer” in an IOS text msg, the spell checker offered “Baloney.” Prophetic.
Our IT department is going to have a cow. They will have to support XP, Win7 and now Win8. How long will it be until Win7 cannot be loaded. Win8 will probably just be Win7 with overlays for tablets/slates/bricks/etc.
Tell your IT minions to bow before their master & overlord, Der Fuhrer Ballmer and accept 20 lashes as their due.
Not really funny. But I see your point in bashing Balmer’s idiocy.
I think they give 5 years mainstream support to all of their operating systems, then at least another year or two after that you can still get security patches.
I do not get what the difference between a slate and a tablet is.
I’m beginning to think Ballmer just likes to throw out words.
“We will be shipping on Tablets, Tables, Zonks, Wonks, Slates and slabs…. now give it up for me… YEEEAAAAH!!!!”
I think we can refer to it as the Winpocalypse. I thought I read where all current Windows software will be incompatible with the ARMed and dangerous Windows 8? If true that oughtta go down like a lead balloon.
Who knows at this point.
Apparently it was Intel who said that Win8 ARM would support no older software, and now Microsoft is saying that is not true, but then again they will not say exactly what Win8 ARM will support.
Your guess is as good as anyone!
I thought the rapture was supposed to be the second coming of Jesus not coco the clown.
WIndows Tablets and Slates don’t have a chance. Why? Because they will all have to have keyboards. Why? How else will you log in (Alt-Control-Delete- remember?)? 😉
And who (but Crackberry users**) want a keyboard on they tablet?
** – and even they don’t get one on the Playbook
And, right after Balmy’s speech, MS released a statement saying that the CEO misspoke!
“No new Winblows name, no new Windoze release in 2012”.
Funny to have to correct a CEO on their “flagship” product.
Microsoft, everlastingly skating to where the puck was, and never even getting there.
Virtually every new MS project in the last decade loses money, and as their licensing cash flow dries up, this will become a much smaller company.
Even worse, Microsoft is playing sledge hockey. Look it up. It was on TV yesterday…
Sledge hockey is about letting disabled people do something fun. MS is about handicapping people that don’t have disabilities, which is only fun for MS.
He totally over-uses the word “form-factor”
Is he a secret shape-shifter?
Ballmer is all about hollow CEO-speak, bandying about all of the vacuous stock business cliches without any real delivery on said promises.
I haven’t heard the word “synergy” or “synergosity” recently but I’m sure its coming reeeeaaal soon. Ballmy’s shootin’ blanks and he knows it. Like Milton’s “Paradise Lost” he’s “Credibility Lost.”.
But, for as long as it…
“Is he a secret shape-shifter?”
Sure, just slap his beer gut, see what happens.
Slap his gut…..Hahahahh toooo funny.
So maybe the end of the world will really be in 2012!! Will Win8 be released in december??
500 new features? Seems that Ballmer never read that Steve Jobs article about getting “rid of the crap”.
And the next version of Windows will be called Windows 9 followed by, wait for it…., Windows X!
OMG. I had not thought of that. Wow.
Redmond has no shame, not an ounce of it.
500 FEATURES!!! That’s huge. Most of what SJ states is like 100 or 150 new features, but MS has 500, repeat 500 FREAKING NEW WINDOWS PHONE FEATURES. I can’t wait to see the list.
Great, 500 new features… 501 and counting!